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AT&T to sell satellite smart phone - The Globe and Mail (http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/technology/personal-tech/att-to-sell-satellite-smart-phone/article1716110/ - broken link)
If this service can be turned on and off by customer choice (activate it for a month, and then discontinue it and just have a smart cell phone) this is a bargain.
The option to be able to switch over to the satellite costs $25 extra per month, and then 65 cents per minute of calling.
...
It can send and receive data over the satellite, which means it can be used for e-mail and Web surfing. The cost, like the satellite, is sky-high: $5 per megabyte, or 400 times more expensive than a standard $25-per-month terrestrial data plan.
Text messages, by comparison, are a bargain. They're 40 cents each, only four times the piece rate for cellphones.
The point I'm trying to make is that if the sat sevice can be turned off and normal towers used, and if you want sat service because you know you're going to be in the middle of nowhere and need possible emergency communication ability, then a charge of 25 bucks and 65 cents a min is a bargain if a sat phone is needed. I doubt if an emergency phone call for me would last longer than 5 minutes.
I doubt anyone is gonna buy this thing so they can surf the web in the middle of nowhere. If anyone is so compelled to check their Facebook account in the middle on nowhere then they deserve to pay 5 bucks a meg.
Well, you said "maybe the world is ready for it." The world is a pretty big market. I thought you were suggesting that this would be a consumer product, which it isn't. I don't think we'll ever see satellite phones as a consumer product - the quality of service will never be up to par for the average consumer, since the distances involved will introduce delays that the average consumer won't find acceptable.
ETA: I agree that for those that truly need it, it's not that expensive compared to the options that exist today. I looked at renting a satellite phone once -
I doubt anyone is gonna buy this thing so they can surf the web in the middle of nowhere. If anyone is so compelled to check their Facebook account in the middle on nowhere then they deserve to pay 5 bucks a meg.
did they mention what the speeds are?
i would think they're horrendous on the satellite.
well now its good if you are out camping or your going into the moutains where cell service is lacking 100% or unreliable service, then yes this is a great option but if your checking facebook and whatnot you are correct you do deserve the 5 dollars a megabyte
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